The council voted 9-0 Monday to give the go-ahead regarding the circa 1927 building, in a move that its president, Kathleen A. Bourque, has called proactive rather than reactive.

She noted Tuesday that the move to file papers with the Massachusetts School Building Authority does not commit the city in any way. It does enable the School Department to get into the funding pipeline should state money become available and should it want to undertake a project, she said.

Bourque said if the city were not to act, it could lose out on getting grant money.

“They are certainly overcrowded,” Bourque said of classrooms at the school. “They have classrooms in areas that used to be locker rooms.”

She said the 115 Southworth St. building used to be a junior high school, a fact school officials have pointed out in arguing that it is not appropriate for use by younger children.

The school, which has about 450 students, has a shortage of classroom space that has resulted in kindergarten classes and reading programs being conducted in former locker rooms. In addition, the statement of interest drafted by the School Department reports that the building is not conducive to programs for students in grades kindergarten through five, especially students who are in the English Language Learners programs or in special education programs for youngsters on the autism spectrum.

Every 12 to 19 months the state building authority accepts statements of interest. If it acts favorably on a statement of interest, it invites a community to file an application for assistance. The Massachusetts School Building Authority evaluates a community’s building needs and decides whether the best course is for it to pay for repairs, renovations or a new building.

It will reimburse the city more than $68 million of the cost of the approximately $107 million new high school under construction and expected to open in about a year.